The Orrong Group was established in February 2010 with the aim of building a grassroots community response to challenge the height and scale of the Lend Lease proposal at 590 Orrong Road. The Orrong Group is now driven by Margot Carrol with a core committee and dozens of supporters.

Orrong Group wants to connect a broad association of concerned residents, traders and community groups. Along with interested parties, the Orrong Group is challenging the height, scale and encroachment upon valuable public open space.

On 5 May 2010, a Community Consultation was held by Lend Lease at Malvern Town Hall. The session was attended by Lend Lease project managers and a representative of Council. A poor publicity campaign and low-level marketing strategy by the global developer, meant that few local residents were aware of the forum date and location, let alone able to attend at short notice.

Lend Lease’s determined efforts to intensively develop the 2.45 hectare ‘Larkfield’ site (site owned and managed by Larkfield Property Holdings) is evidenced in its continued active lobbying of both local (Stonnington Council) and state government planners since mid-2009.

With the same determination, Orrong Group aims to wage a community campaign targeted at governments, politicians and media to build opposition to this massive development and achieve a scaled-down version of the proposal to four levels which is the height of current on-site buildings.

We hope that people who are passionate about opposing the size and density of this project will contribute to Orrong Group’s campaign by joining in the effort and providing specialist skills, practical assistance, financial contribution, media lobbying and utilising political, celebrity or professional connections to gain wider public attention and a lower scale development for 590 Orrong Road.

We are a broad church with no political affiliation. Our key committee people have the full spectrum of political views, including none at all. We are united by our gob-smacked reaction to this steroidal development.

Fight the towers!

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4 responses to this post.

Dear OrrongGroup,
I hope you know enough about the planning scheme and the planning process to deconstruction your local member’s Myth-busting leaflet. Yes an amendment does not go to VCAT, but to a Planning Panel, run by the same minions of madden who run VCAT, and the end result goes to Madden’s office for further tweaking by his officers. You can see the result of ALP’s policies all around you.

Wise up to these guys, and get on the fast track to understand how they intend to use the planning machine to beat you down after the election.

I’m not a fan of this kind of development either. Who is? Claiming no political affiliation is a dead givaway for a particular political leaning though and I bet it’s not Green.
How many meeting have I gone to that are full of genuinly concerned people complaining about the wrong things.
Size and density? Does that actually matter? What about asking “what are the developers willing to offer to the community.” Where is the land given over to public open space? i.e. given to the people. Every meeting I’ve gone to someone gets up and complains that there are not enough parking spots so all the streets will be cluttered with cars. This one everyone complains that the roads will be filled with cars. It certainly happens if you provide a development with too many cars. It attracts people with cars. Have a look at how busy it is now around South Yarra station. So much parking (additional to appese the locals) is given over to casual parkers, the morning jostle for the PUBLIC carparks is shamefull.

Let us make this perfectly clear – we have a total range of political alliliations – from green to deep blue via red. We also have some pinks onboard. There are also some swingers and apoliticals among us. We don’t waste our unpaid time writing bollocks so when we state that the group is not politically affiliated we mean it.

This development means traffic gridlock, overflowing train stations and tram stops, no more on-street car parking, a blighted skyline and less privacy for current residents. It will also impinge on adjoining public land. It defies the lowrise local residential style.

This development will set a precedent for further development.

This is a rare opportunity for Stonnington to increase open space, develop a school or a stellar medium density residential development. We do not need another Docklands.

Already we know that Toorak Station is within developers' sites. How long before Hawksburn and Armadale are redeveloped?

Stonnington Council - after much campaigning - refused the permit but developer Lend Lease successfully overturned this decision at VCAT. This VCAT decision is in turn being appealed in the Supreme Court in April 2013.

Our opponent is smart, moneyed, experienced and well connected. We won't win this without your help.

Lend Lease has 'consulted' but never compromised. They entirely underestimated our ability to fight their plan.

Reading this is just the beginning - we need you to work with us to fight the towers.